East Cloud never truly became quiet.
Even at night, the continent breathed endlessly.
Steam pipes hissed between buildings.
Mechanical lifts groaned overhead.
Rainwater dripped from hanging bridges connecting entire districts across the cliffs.
And somewhere deep below the upper city… the lower dockyard remained awake.
Dangerously awake.
Dhruv walked beside Deep and Deepika through narrow harbor streets while keeping his hood low.
The city felt different during nighttime.
Less crowded.
More secretive.
People moved carefully here.
Nobody stared too long.
Nobody asked unnecessary questions.
Perfect hunter territory.
Deep carried a heavy bag of mechanical parts over one shoulder while whispering excitedly:
“This place is AMAZING.”
Deepika didn’t even glance at him.
“This place will kill you.”
“Worth it.”
Dhruv smiled quietly while observing everything around them.
Hidden symbols marked certain alley walls.
Old red lanterns hung outside coded buildings.
Certain shops had no names at all.
Hunter signs.
Not obvious to normal people.
But once noticed… impossible to ignore.
The underground world existed right beneath the police’s nose.
And everyone here knew it.
Deep suddenly lowered his voice.
“…We’re being watched.”
Dhruv noticed it too.
Three men stood near a tea stall farther ahead pretending not to observe them.
Too still.
Too aware.
Police.
Not regular officers either.
Dockyard trackers.
Deepika kept walking calmly.
“Don’t react.”
Dhruv quietly nodded.
The three trackers slowly began following.
Not rushing.
Professional.
Deep muttered:
“Well that’s comforting.”
They turned into another narrow street between old cargo warehouses.
Fog drifted low across the ground.
The harbor smelled like rust and rain.
Then suddenly…
WHISTLE.
Sharp.
Loud.
Every movement around them froze instantly.
Hunter instincts.
Several hooded figures disappeared into nearby alleys immediately.
The trackers moved fast now.
“EAST CLOUD POLICE!”
“STOP MOVING!”
Deep groaned dramatically.
“We’ve been here ONE DAY.”
Dhruv immediately grabbed Deep’s shoulder.
“Run.”
The three sprinted instantly.
Bootsteps thundered behind them.
More whistles echoed across nearby streets.
Too many.
Deepika’s eyes sharpened instantly.
“Trap.”
From above, metal gates suddenly crashed downward blocking the alley exits.
BOOOOM.
Dhruv stopped sharply.
Police surrounded both ends now.
Five officers.
Armed.
One stepped forward slowly beneath flickering lantern light.
Tall woman.
White officer coat.
Scar across nose. a glowing ember crystal.
Dhruv’s expression shifted slightly.
Ember user.
Rare.
Dangerous.
The officer studied them carefully.
“You’re not merchants.”
Deep whispered:
“You think?”
The officer ignored him.
“Hunter squad?”
Silence.
Nobody answered.
Because in East Cloud… confirming that openly to police was practically signing your own death warrant.
The officer’s gaze narrowed.
Then landed briefly on Dhruv’s red thread.
Something flickered across her expression.
Recognition?
Maybe.
“Search them.”
The other officers moved forward immediately.
Deepika’s hand quietly moved toward hidden knives beneath her coat.
Deep subtly adjusted something inside his mechanical bag.
Dhruv’s heartbeat slowed instead of speeding up.
Calm.
Grandpa always said:
Panic makes people predictable.
The officer stepped directly in front of Dhruv now.
“You’re carrying something valuable.”
Not a question.
Dhruv smiled slightly.
“So is everybody here.”
Wrong answer.
The officer suddenly grabbed his jacket aggressively.
And the folded map partially slipped free.
Everything changed instantly.
The officer’s eyes widened slightly.
Then sharpened.
“…Where did you get this?”
Dhruv moved first.
Invisible.
The air shimmered violently.
He took the map and kept it again to his chest under his clothes.
The officer grabbed empty air instead.
Deep immediately slammed a small metal sphere onto the ground.
BOOM.
Smoke exploded across the alleyway.
Police shouted instantly.
“EMBER USER!”
“DON’T LET THEM ESCAPE!”
Deepika moved like lightning.
Two knives flashed through smoke.
THUNK.
THUNK.
Both embedded directly into lantern chains overhead.
The lanterns crashed downward between police lines.
Chaos.
Perfect chaos.
Dhruv reappeared behind one officer and swept his legs instantly before vanishing again.
The police panicked.
Because fighting invisible opponents destroyed rhythm.
And rhythm mattered in battle.
The Ember officer remained calm though.
Too calm.
Her glowing crystal suddenly brightened.
Then flames burst outward across the alley walls.
Dhruv immediately reappeared.
Smoke.
His invisibility failed instantly.
The officer noticed.
Sharp.
Very sharp.
“So that’s your weakness.”
Dhruv’s expression hardened slightly.
Problem.
Big problem.
Dhruv barely blocked her strike using a metal pipe from the ground.
CLANG.
Pain shot through his arms instantly.
Strong.
Way stronger than normal humans.
Deep suddenly yelled:
“DUCK!”
Dhruv dropped instantly.
A spinning electric device flew over his head before attaching directly to the officer’s shoulder.
Deep grinned wildly.
“Science time.”
BZTTTTT.
Electricity exploded outward violently.
The officer staggered backward cursing.
Deepika grabbed Dhruv immediately.
“Move!”
The three sprinted through smoke-filled alleys while police whistles erupted behind them endlessly.
More officers were arriving now.
Too many.
Deep laughed while running.
“This is kinda fun!”
“You are mentally ill!”
“THANK YOU!”
They sharply turned through another warehouse corridor.
Then stopped suddenly.
Dead end.
Deep stared upward dramatically.
“…Small issue.”
Police footsteps closed in rapidly behind them.
The Ember officer emerged through smoke again slowly.
Blood trickled from one eyebrow now.
Angry.
Very angry.
“You’re hunters.”
Dhruv stepped slightly forward.
“And?”
The officer’s glowing flames intensified softly.
“Then East Cloud belongs to the police tonight.”
The atmosphere tightened instantly.
Rain dripped from broken rooftops overhead.
Nobody moved.
Then quietly… a messenger bird landed beside the officer.
The bird leaned near her ear briefly.
Whispered message.
The officer’s expression shifted slightly afterward.
Annoyance.
She glanced toward distant upper districts.
Then back toward Dhruv.
“…You’re lucky.”
Police whistles suddenly echoed from another direction urgently.
Emergency call.
The officer stepped backward slowly.
But her eyes never left Dhruv.
“We’ll meet again.”
Then she and the other officers disappeared into the fog-filled streets as quickly as they arrived.
Silence returned slowly.
Deep exhaled dramatically.
“…East Cloud police are HORRIFYING.”
Deepika retrieved her knives calmly.
“You exposed your Ember ability too openly.”
Dhruv leaned against the alley wall breathing heavily.
“I know.”
But something bothered him more.
The officer recognized the map instantly.
Just like the harbor officer earlier.
Meaning:
Grandpa’s secret wasn’t hidden anymore.
People were already searching for it.
Dangerous people.
Deep suddenly grinned.
“Well.”
He pointed proudly at all of them.
“Officially criminals now.”
Deepika stared blankly.
“We already were.”
“…Fair point.”
Rain continued falling softly across East Cloud’s lower city while somewhere far above… hidden eyes quietly watched the Red Threads move through the darkness.
END OF CHAPTER 11